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EBR Coroner calls new drug stronger than heroin

6 years 10 months 3 weeks ago Tuesday, April 25 2017 Apr 25, 2017 April 25, 2017 9:27 PM April 25, 2017 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office is warning people about a new synthetic drug in the greater Baton Rouge area.

The new drug is known on the streets as 'pink.' It's a synthetic opioid mixed with the drug Fentanyl. EBR Parish Coroner Dr. Beau Clark has spent years tracking opioid abuse and said this new drug is stronger than heroin.

The drug first made headlines last year in a case that killed a child in Colorado. Since January, it has made its way into East Baton Rouge Parish. Now, 'pink' mixed with other opioids is turning into a deadly drug trend.

The Coroner's Office is breaking down overdose numbers by quarters this year because the problem has become so extreme.

Last week, Clark testified at the Louisiana State Capitol as lawmakers work to find a solution to fix the opioid epidemic. An epidemic that is killing more people in the parish than homicides.

"You can have rich people, poor people, young people, old people," Clark said. "Pretty much anyone in our community can be affected by it."

The drug reportedly got the street name 'pink' because of its pinkish tint.

In some cases, drug dealers don't let buyers know that 'pink' is mixed with the heroin they think they're buying, according to Clark.

The drug was legal until November, when it was placed in the same category as marijuana by DEA under a legal provision that allows the agency to begin to control new drugs on an emergency basis when a public health threat exists.

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